Armed Good Guys: Stand Your Ground?

News stories of civilian self-defense seldom receive adequate media coverage. After all, armed good guys stopping violent felons does not make headlines like the lives of innocents being taken. Bias and agendas play their part, but the media does not cover an event that did not happen, such as a case where a good guy stopped a violent event before it it resulted in the loss of innocent life. However, these are exactly the type of stories we need to highlight to educate non gun owners before they head to the voting booth.

Husband Shoots Home Invasion Suspect Holding Wife at Gunpoint

Police say a husband opened fire on two home invasion suspects as they tried to hold his wife at gunpoint overnight. This happened around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday at a home in in southeast Houston. According to the Houston Police Department, the husband managed to shoot one of the suspects in the head.

Investigators said it all started when the man’s wife pulled into their driveway Tuesday night. The two armed suspects then jumped out and tried to rob her. First, they took her purse, and then they tried to force her into the house. However, that is when her husband showed up. He heard the commotion from inside, grabbed his gun and ended up exchanging gunfire with the intruders.

Fortunately, the couple wasn’t hit, but one of the suspects was hit in the head, police said. The other suspect took off running. Police said the injured suspect was taken into surgery.

Man Killed in Burglary – Family Protests Shooting

Victim of addiction or winner of the “play stupid games, win win stupid prizes” carnival? You make the call

This story gets a bit more complicated. After reading it, be sure to sound off in the comment section with your opinion as whether the business owner should have proactively entered to confront the suspect.

Family members of a man slain in an apparent burglary attempt said he never should have been shot and killed, admitting wrongdoing by both parties involved. The fatal shooting happened just after 7:15 a.m. Wednesday at Kraft Imports and 5 Star Muffler in the 1400 block of Army Post Road on Des Moines’ south side.

Police said that business owner 67-year-old Thomas Kraft, of Des Moines, discovered the burglary when he arrived at the store and found a pickup truck loaded with his merchandise. Kraft shot and killed an intruder, identified as 37-year-old Amund Haarstad, of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, police said. It’s the city’s sixth homicide so far this year.

There was still broken glass and a broken door at the scene Wednesday night. Kraft was taken to a hospital for an unrelated medical issue.

“There’d been some forced entry into the business, and there was a pickup truck parked in the service bay that had been loaded with property,” Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek said.

Haarstad’s sister, who spoke on the condition that KCCI not use her name, said he suffered from drug addiction and should not have burglarized the Des Moines store. She also said Kraft had been wrong in taking the situation into his own hands and shooting her brother.

“He doesn’t have a history of violence,” Haarstad’s sister said in a telephone interview with KCCI from the family’s Minnesota home.

She said, while her brother was wrong to burglarize the store, this case should not be a “stand your ground” case because she believes the business owner knowingly walked in to shoot him. “If you know somebody is in there and you walk in armed and you shoot them in the head, that is absolutely premeditated,” she said.

“Our hearts go out to them,” Des Moines police Sgt. Parizek said. “It’s tough to lose a family member.” It’s unclear exactly what led up to the shooting. Des Moines police said there are still a lot of things to figure out, and they’re not calling it a “stand your ground” case just yet. A decision on any charges will come from the Polk County Attorney’s Office. “We’ve still got a lot of evidence to examine,” Parizek said. “We have a lot of people to talk to, so the Police Department is far from making any decision on that.”

The Haarstad family believes that, if the business owner would have let the police handle the burglary, their brother wouldn’t be dead.

Haarstad leaves behind a daughter, a son and a loving family who was trying to help him overcome his drug addiction.

“It’s just hard,” his sister said. “I just want people to know that he was human, too.”

Police are looking for any surveillance video that shows what happened. The business owner has not made any kind of statement.

Legal expert Bob Rigg said he does not recommend citizens interrupt a burglary in progress. “For God’s sake, call police,” Rigg said. “Don’t go in. Try to avoid that confrontation because it can go both ways.”

Parizek shared a message for anyone considering a life of crime. “You never know when you’re going to pick the wrong business and you’re going to encounter the wrong business (owner) that’s got their heels dug in,” he said. “They’re going to protect their property and themselves, and this is the type of thing that may happen,” he said.

Do you know of a recent event of where armed good guys turned the tide on the bad guys? Do you feel the business owner should have waited for the police? Is this a case of Stand Your Ground? Share your answers in the comment section.

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You don’t want to get shot don’t commit a crime, period. I do not feel bad for him (the criminal) or his family. I do feel bad for the business owner, that he now has to deal with this and live with it. I fully believe that if someone breaks into your home or business committing a crime if they get shot the only person responsible is the one committing the crime.It’s high time we stop making excuses for criminals and penalizing law abiding citizens. You don’t know what these criminals are capable of. He could have called 911 and the guy come out see him on the phone and shoots, stabs, hits him with a heavy object or even runs him over or just gets away and the cops never find him. Why give him that chance. You have the right to protect you, your family and your property. There was a day in this country this wouldn’t have even been questioned. Oh I just want people to know he was human too, yeah but a bad human. People have no issue putting down a “bad” dog or killing an innocent unborn baby but put down a “bad” person and we are expected to feel bad for them. Nope, not me, especially not anymore. Maybe a few years back but after the last 15-20 years I have given up hope on about half the human race.

You should not have to be afraid to enter you’re own property, home or business. This is the type of stuff they should teach in school, if you want to rob, burglarize or home invade someone be prepared to to be worm food.

Whichever case you read about there isn’t much reason for anyone to sympathize with the victim. The only thing that the anti-gunner or the un-informed will read is that someone killed someone else with a gun. You can’t beat that unless you have a judicial system that places the rights of the victim ahead of the rights of the guilty.

We have always heard about the accused, but anyone can be accused. You must be able to look at evidence and find the guilty, not vilify the innocent. So if you use a gun in America right now for self defense you are already the guilty in the eyes of anyone who doesn’t recognize your right to self defense which includes the right to defend others and your property.

Hopefully the situation in Florida will show a certain segment of the population the folly of illegally parking in handicap parking spaces without a permit and the greater folly of feeling they have the right to just randomly attack someone for calling them out on the first issue. As they say an armed society is a polite society, but the growing pains will be to remove the individuals who can’t seem to operate under basic human decency.